Art Basel Miami Beach 2022: What To Expect At The Fair’s 20th Anniversary

By Cheryl Tiu

This year marks Art Basel Miami Beach’s 20^th anniversary, and it is set to be the largest edition to date. From December 1 to 3 (by-invitation private viewings are on November 29 and 30), the Miami Beach Convention Center will be home to 282 exhibitors spanning 38 countries and territories. Resounding trends from this year’s selections include: re-thinking historical narratives and perspectives, the power of ideology, textiles, the human form, and violence.

This year also marks a changing of the guard in leadership: Noah Horowitz (formerly Director of Americas) returns to Art Basel as CEO. He succeeds Marc Spiegler, who was the fair’s Global Director since 2012.

We break down the fair’s main sectors with what to expect this year:

Galleries is the main section of the fair where the world’s leading galleries will be presenting the highest quality of paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations, photography, videos and digital works.

Meridians, which debuted in 2019, is a platform for both renowned and emerging artists to showcase large-scale sculptures and paintings, installations, live performances, film and video projections. that push the boundaries of a traditional art fair layout. It returns this year with 20 large-scale projects which include “sculpted bodies, sexualized bodies, performing and singing bodies—challenging art historical canons and their relationship with the representation of power, opening new perspectives for art’s activism around gender and race, and infusing optimism and hope to how we might envision our future,” shares Magalí Arriola, Director of Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, who is curating this sector for the third consecutive year.

Positions, dedicated to emerging artists, will bring together 19 solo presentations from artists across the globe.

Nova provides a platform for galleries to present new works by up to three artists, created within the last three years. There will be 23 presentations this year. Of note, Native American-owned K Art Gallery, based out of Buffalo, will present the works of three Native American and Indigenous contemporary artists: Edgar Heap of Birds (Arapaho and Cheyenne), Erin Ggaamitis Ivalu Gingrich (Inupiaq); and Robyn Tsinnajinnie (Navajo). Their works weave a cohesive tapestry of Native and Indigenous perspectives on land acknowledgment and the natural environment, as well as perspectives on female stereotypes—particularly how they relate to Indigenous women. (Edgar Heap of Birds’ “Columbus Day” will be in the Meridian sector.)

Survey features works created before 2000. There will be 17 galleries this year.

Edition features editioned work from 11 global leaders in the field of prints this year, including the likes of Frank Gehry and Richard Serra, presented by Gemini G.E.L.

Kabinett provides galleries the opportunity to present curated exhibitions within their booths. This year, there will be 29 installations by established and emerging artists.

Conversations offers a platform for the exchange of ideas—between 35 artists, gallerists, collectors, curators, museum directors and critics from across the world—on topics concerning the global contemporary art scene. This year’s topics include representing artists and collecting art from Africa and the African diaspora, the carbon footprint of technology, and counterintuitive approaches to the art market. To mark 20 years of Art Basel Miami Beach, there will also be a panel featuring Miami-based collectors Carlos & Rosa de la Cruz, Craig Robins, and Martin Margulies who have helped establish the city’s ecosystem. The program, which runs from November 30 to December 2, is curated by Emily Butler, Art Basel’s Conversations Curator, and is free to the public. All panels will be livestreamed on Art Basel’s Facebook channel with recordings available after the event.

Via Forbes